TENNIS: Wawrinka bests injured Nadal
Swiss star bests injured Nadal at Aussie Open
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Stan Wawrinka added a win over Rafael Nadal to his list of firsts in a stunning run to his maiden Grand Slam title, extending his rival’s injury-cursed run at the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 upset in Sunday’s final.
The 28-year-old Wawrinka had never taken a set off Nadal in 12 previous meetings, but attacked from the start against the 13-time major winner and regained his nerve after dropping the third set against the injured Spaniard.
Nadal appeared to be on the verge of retiring in the second set, when he hurt his back and needed a medical time out, but he refused to quit.
“It’s really not the way you want to win a tennis match, but in a Grand Slam final I’ll take it,” said Wawrinka, the first man in 21 years to beat the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked players en route to a Grand Slam title.
Nadal was a hot favourite to win at Melbourne Park and become the first man to win each of the four Grand Slam tournaments twice in the Open era. Instead, his injury curse struck again. It remains the only major he hasn’t won at least two times.
“Rafa, I’m really sorry for you, I hope your back is going to be fine. You’re a really great guy, good friend and really amazing champion,” Wawrinka said as he accepted his first major trophy. “Last year I had a crazy match, I lost it. I was crying a lot after the match. But in one year a lot happened — I still don’t know if I’m dreaming or not but we’ll see tomorrow morning.”
Meanwhile, Toronto’s Daniel Nestor and French partner Kristina Mladenovic won the Australian Open mixed doubles title Sunday over India’s Sania Mirza and Romanian Horia Tecau 6-3, 6-2.
The 58-minute victory marks the fourth mixed title for the 41-year-old Nestor and second for his team in the last three Grand Slams.
He and Mladenovic won the Wimbledon title last summer after finishing runner-up at the French Open eight months ago.
“We’ve been playing our best tennis here,” said Nestor. “It’s great to win this title.
“I have what I believe is the best partner in mixed. Kristina helps me out and I have to cover less of the court — that’s good at my age.”
The Canadian will travel to Tokyo for next week’s Davis Cup tie with Japan.
On the women’s side, Li Na had the Rod Laver Arena crowd on its feet, roaring — this time with laughter.
Her encore to a 7-6 (3), 6-0 win over Dominika Cibulkova in the Australian Open title match Saturday night made her even more popular at Melbourne Park, where she’d lost two finals in the previous three years.
So she paid her supporters back with one of the best of her improv standup routines.
First she thanked her agent “for making me rich,” then her coach Carlos Rodriguez and then her husband, Shan Jiang — her former coach and constant travelling companion.
“Thanks for him give up everything just travelling with me to be my hitting partner, fix the drinks, fix the racket — so thanks a lot, you are a nice guy,” she told Shan in a rare public compliment, pausing for the laughter. “Also you are so lucky (to) find me.”
Li, who will turn 32 next month, is the oldest women’s champion in Australia in the Open era.
“I would like to say age is nothing,” she said. “Still can win the Grand Slam. So pretty happy about my age. I got more experience on the court.”
As for Wawrinka, he will move from No. 8 to No. 3. In doing so, he’ll surpass Roger Federer, a 17time Grand Slam winner who lost to Nadal in the semifinals — to become the highest-ranked Swiss player for the first time in his career.
A constant supporter of his countryman, Federer was one of the first people to call and congratulate Wawrinka after his win.
Nadal took a medical timeout after falling behind a set and a break. He returned to a chorus of boos without a shirt after seven minutes and it seemed an early finish was on the cards.
Wawrinka was aggravated during the time out, demanding that officials tell him why Nadal needed the break. And he came out aggressively to finish off the second set.
Nadal’s serve speed dipped to 125 km/h and then 114 km/h. The support in the stadium gradually shifted as the crowd saw the Spaniard battling to stay on the court.
His service speed improved in the beginning of the third set, prompting a fan to yell advice to Wawrinka: “C’mon Stan, no sympathy!”
By the end of the set, Nadal’s serve was back up to 174 km/h and Wawrinka’s error count was escalating.
Wawrinka composed himself after an exchange of breaks in the fourth set to serve it out in two hours, 21 minutes. After a muted celebration, he consoled Nadal in the courtside chairs before getting a chance to hold up and kiss his first big trophy.